Vehicle Radar Clutter Filtering for Reliable Road User Recognition
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle radar systems struggle with faulty detections, known as clutter, which can lead to incorrect vehicle reactions due to reflections of radar signals, making it difficult to reliably recognize road users.
Innovation Solution
A method and computing device that identify faulty detections by analyzing spatial and chronological correlations of radar sensor measurements, using predetermined reflection effects to distinguish between real and false detections, thereby improving the recognition of road users.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If threshold values for detection triggering are set lower to prevent reactions to incorrectly recognized objects, then false positive detections are reduced, but reaction time is shortened and the driver assistance system reacts too late in critical situations
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary analysis of detection patterns by storing detections from multiple previous measurement cycles and comparing them against current detections. This preliminary action identifies faulty detections before they trigger vehicle reactions, allowing the use of lower thresholds without sacrificing reaction time.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring detection patterns over time and using this information to distinguish between real objects and faulty detections. The feedback mechanism allows the system to maintain low thresholds while filtering out false positives through pattern recognition across multiple measurement cycles.
2Reliability
If lower threshold values are used to avoid reacting to falsely detected objects, then the reliability of detection is improved, but objects are only recognized late reducing reaction time
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary analysis of detection patterns by storing detections from multiple previous measurement cycles and comparing them against current detections. This preliminary action identifies faulty detections before they trigger vehicle reactions, allowing the use of lower thresholds without sacrificing reaction time.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring detection patterns over time and using this information to distinguish between real objects and faulty detections. The feedback mechanism allows the system to maintain low thresholds while filtering out false positives through pattern recognition across multiple measurement cycles.
3Loss of time
If the system reacts to all detections including faulty ones to ensure safety, then reaction time is maintained, but incorrect reactions occur and may cause severe effects on following traffic
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and removes faulty detections from the set of all detections by comparing current detections against stored patterns from previous measurement cycles. This extraction process eliminates harmful false positives while preserving valid detections, allowing timely reactions without incorrect responses.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring detection patterns over time and using this information to distinguish between real objects and faulty detections. The feedback mechanism allows the system to maintain low thresholds while filtering out false positives through pattern recognition across multiple measurement cycles.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances the reliability of road user recognition by reducing faulty detections, allowing for timely and accurate vehicle responses to potential hazards.
Implementation Method 1
radar sensors are of interest in particular. To detect the objects, the radar sensor emits radar signals or electromagnetic waves, which are then reflected at the object to be detected and are received as a reflected electromagnetic wave
Implementation Method 2
The radar sensors measure the distance between the object and the vehicle on the basis of a time-of-flight of the radar signal
Implementation Method 3
They can moreover measure both the relative radial velocity between the vehicle and the object
Data Source
AI summary
A method for recognizing road users in an environment of a vehicle includes determining detections that describe potential objects in the environment, identifying faulty detections within the detections, and recognizing the road users on the basis of the detections other than the faulty detections. Identifying the faulty detections further includes, for each detection, checking, on the basis of the spatial position with respect to other detections, whether the detection originates from a reflection effect of a plurality of predefined reflection effects of the radar signal, wherein the plurality of predefined reflection effects describes at least one additional reflection of the radar signal after a first reflection of the radar signal by an object.